HMS Lance (Lt.Cdr. Ralph William Frank Northcott, DSO, RN) was sunk by aircraft bombs at Malta. Lance had been docked for repairs, and was hit on 5th April and 9th April 1942. She was written off as a constructive total loss. Salvaged and towed to Britain and sold for scrap in June 1944. Scrapped at Grays by T.W. Ward.

In the resulting battle the Italian destroyer Fulmine is sunk as well as the German transports Duisburg (7389 GRT) and San Marco (3113 GRT), the Italian transports Maria (6339 GRT), Sagitta (5153 GRT) and Rina Corrado (5180 GRT), and the Italian Conte di Misurata (5014 GRT) and Minatitlan (7599 GRT). The Italian destroyers Grecale and Euro are damaged.

24 Nov 1941The British Force K, made up of the British light cruisers HMS Aurora (Capt. W.G. Agnew, RN) and
HMS Penelope (Capt. A.D. Nicholl, RN) and the British destroyers
HMS Lance (Lt.Cdr. R.W.F. Northcott, RN) and HMS Lively (Lt.Cdr. W.F.E. Hussey, DSC, RN), intercept an Axis convoy about 100 nautical miles west of Crete. The Axis convoy is bound from the Aegean to Bengasi.

The two German transports in the convoy Maritza (2910 GRT) and Procida (1842 GRT) are both sunk by HMS Penelope and HMS Lively despite the presence of the Italian torpedo boats Lupo and Cassiopea.